A quarter of medical research charities say they plan to reduce their funding to universities, in some cases by as much as 40 per cent, because of a decline in charitable giving caused by the recession.

A survey of members of the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC), an umbrella group of the UK¡¯s leading medical and health research charities, reveals that more than three quarters of the 117 charities predict that the downturn will have a ¡°significant impact¡± on their work. It reports that investments, legacies, corporate giving and public donations are all under pressure.

Nearly 26 per cent said they planned to curtail research funding in 2009-10, with reductions of between 10 and 40 per cent, while just over half said they planned to keep research funding at the same level, bucking a previous trend for growth.

Only one tenth of respondents said they expected their funding to increase in 2009-10.

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AMRC members spent an estimated ?936 million on research in 2008-09, compared with ?826 million in the previous 12 months.

Smaller charities that fund work into less common conditions were being ¡°hit particularly hard¡±, said Simon Denegri, the AMRC¡¯s chief executive.

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He called on public donors and the Government to provide more support.

¡°The AMRC¡¯s members are actively looking at closer collaboration, co-funding and other options for working in partnership as a means of both cutting costs and making the money they raise go further in supporting quality research,¡± he said. ¡°We urge the Government to support these efforts by not only maintaining its investment in science but also continuing to focus attention on reducing the regulatory burden.¡±

zoe.corbyn@tsleducation.com